Can Saab Come Back To Malaysia?

lowpro

Posted 26 June 2009 - 06:03 PM

lowpro

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now that saab has a new owner in koenigsegg, i wonder if the brand will make a come back into this country. if they do, i wonder who would be the best to handle the brand - preferably should have deep pockets to have their OWN 3S centres in key market centres like penang (can also be in juru), kl, pj, jb.

one thing for sure is, the new people who handle saab will need to be:

1) fans of the brand and not just see it as a money making enterprise. of course making money is a key element but the focus should be to build up the brand.2) willing to do the special 'ckd' thing to bring prices down. 3) know where the market perception of saab is in the malaysian context and not try to think too highly at this point in time until brand reputation is built. 4) ensure low maintenance costs for all new models.

i hv been a long time saab fan and would love to see the new 9-3 (which is available in singapore), 9-5 (launching in 2010) and the 9-4x in malaysia

DC18

Posted 26 June 2009 - 06:10 PM

DC18

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QUOTE (lowpro @ Jun 26 2009, 06:03 PM)

now that saab has a new owner in koenigsegg, i wonder if the brand will make a come back into this country. if they do, i wonder who would be the best to handle the brand - preferably should have deep pockets to have their OWN 3S centres in key market centres like penang (can also be in juru), kl, pj, jb.

one thing for sure is, the new people who handle saab will need to be:

1) fans of the brand and not just see it as a money making enterprise. of course making money is a key element but the focus should be to build up the brand.2) willing to do the special 'ckd' thing to bring prices down. 3) know where the market perception of saab is in the malaysian context and not try to think too highly at this point in time until brand reputation is built. 4) ensure low maintenance costs for all new models.

i hv been a long time saab fan and would love to see the new 9-3 (which is available in singapore), 9-5 (launching in 2010) and the 9-4x in malaysia

fat chance

i guess kosse gonna use the saab tech to produce their own passenger carsthere is just no market for saab in malaysia eurokar did a good job actually but not enuf.

lowpro

at least a swede bout over a swede. not sure koenigsegg has the scapital, skill and knowledge to do mass market production.

yeah. swede taking over swede is good. so far, there are no concrete plans being released to the public. being a saab fan, it's tough to see the company end up like this. fact is, they were not run very well and that led to them being taken over by gm. and gm didn't run them well either. hope the new owners get their act together and do what the brand needs to come out of this stronger. the new 9-5 looks strong while the 9-3 even though a bit dated still looks good.

still waiting the for 9-4x and rumoured 9-1 to take the fight to the golf.

lowpro

are you sure eurokar are doing well for Saab ?....just had grand TT with Saab owners club last week and the feedback from them was totally negative...

hahaha, i did tell the club ppl before the reasons why parts can't be cheaper than the kedai alat ganti. well, it will always be like this. those in clubs who own older cars find that it is not really worth paying official prices and i don't think they are wrong to think like that. i used to tell the gang who owned the gm9-3, the older 900, 9000 and etc to get their parts from kedai alat ganti. much cheaper.

can't blame the authorised franchise holders too. their costs are much more than the kedai alat ganti so i think once past the warranty period, maybe service another year or 2 with the authorised guys then after that, decide the next course of action. i still keep in touch with the saabers nowadays. fun bunch. they too are hoping for better days for saab in malaysia.

QUOTE (DC18 @ Jun 29 2009, 02:55 PM)

doing well in terms of marketing awareness

think most authorize dealer in malaysia sucks in after sales particularly on pricing and parts availbility.

thanks for the first part of your posting!! you really made my day brighter!

swinee

DC18

Posted 29 June 2009 - 05:53 PM

DC18

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QUOTE (lowpro @ Jun 29 2009, 04:33 PM)

hahaha, i did tell the club ppl before the reasons why parts can't be cheaper than the kedai alat ganti. well, it will always be like this. those in clubs who own older cars find that it is not really worth paying official prices and i don't think they are wrong to think like that. i used to tell the gang who owned the gm9-3, the older 900, 9000 and etc to get their parts from kedai alat ganti. much cheaper.

can't blame the authorised franchise holders too. their costs are much more than the kedai alat ganti so i think once past the warranty period, maybe service another year or 2 with the authorised guys then after that, decide the next course of action. i still keep in touch with the saabers nowadays. fun bunch. they too are hoping for better days for saab in malaysia.

thanks for the first part of your posting!! you really made my day brighter!